Hub-attaching device.



l PATENTBD APR", I4', T903. s. s THOMAS. HUB ATTAGHING DEVICE.'

APPLICATION FILED 00T. 4, 1902. 'i

N0 MODEL. V

l A'NrrE STATES,

PATENT OFFICE.

STEPHEN SHERMAN THOMAS, OF RAYVILLE,VI`A1'OUISIANA.

HUB-VATITACHING DEv|CE.L

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 725,298,V dated April14, 1903.v

Application led October fl, 1902. Serial No. 126,989. (No modela To allwhom it may concern.- Y l Be it known that I, STEPHEN SHERMAN THOMAS, acitizen of the United States, residing at Rayville, in the parish ofRichland and State of Louisiana, have invented a new and usefulHub-Attaching Device, of4 which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to vehicle-hubs, andy has .for its object theproduction of a simplyconstructed and easily-operated device whereby thenut maybe removed from the axlespindle Without th'e use of a hand-wrenchor removing the nut from the Wheel, the nut being operated both inattaching and detaching it by rotating the Wheel to the right or left,as the case may be.V

The invention consists in certain novel features of construction, ashereinafter shown and described, and specified in the claims.

In the drawings illustrative of the invention, Figure 1 is alongitudinal'sectional view of a portion of a hub and its band and thespindle and its nut with the improvements applied. Fig. 2 is atransverse section on the line II II of Fig. 1 looking toward the hubend of the band. Fig. 3 is a transverse' section on the same linelooking toward the outer end of the band. Fig. 4: is a front Viewy ofthe hub-band with the improvement applied. Fig. 5 is'a perspective Viewof the axle-nut detached. Fig. 6 is a perspective viewof one of theyieldable latch-bars detached.

The device may be applied to any of the various Vehicle-wheels; 'but.for the purpose` of illustration the invention is shown applied to ahub 10 of ordinary construction, with the spindle 11 having the threadedend 12, and provided with an axle-nut 14, the latter preferablyformed-circular in outline and ,provided with. one or more radialrecesses 15,

as illustrated in Fig. 5. The hub-band is represented at 16 and attachedto' the outer end of the hub inthe ordinarymanner. y

`The hub-band differs from the ordinary hub-band in that it is formedthicker opposite the axle-nut, as shown, and provided with longitudinalrecesses conforming to and adapted to register with the recesses 15 inthe nut 14 when the latter is set up in place lupon the spindle andinengagement With the hub or in its operative position, as shown in Eig.`2.

Slidably disposedin the hubband,outside the axle-nut, is aplate 18,`closely fitting the' thinner portion of the hub-band, as shown. Formedinteriorly of. the hub-band, near its outer edge', is an annular groove,in which an annular' rubber packing-ring 19 is inserted and projectingVinward over the plate and with which the latter` engages when in itsoutward position, as shown in Figs. 1 and 4, the plate thus forming anair and moisture tight closure to the outer end of the band.

Projecting inward from-the band 16 are a series of lugs'20,preferably'formed integral with the band and through which pins 21.corresponding tothe cavity'22, to provide for the removal of 4the platefrom the hub-band after the guide-rods 21' are detached, as will beobvious. By this simple arrangement the plate 18 may be inserted intothe hub-band, the yieldable packing-rim 19 and the guide-- rods 21inserted, the plate 18 thereafter' being movablelongitudinally of thehub-band, but prevented from rotative movementtherein by the vguide-rods21, and also adapted when in its outwardposition to form an airtightclosure to the hub-band and ei'ectually preventing the entrance of sand,dust, or moisture.' A i `f The inner faceof the plate 18 is 4providedwith lugs 24, corresponding to and adapted to engage the registeringcavities 15 17 when the plate is depressed, and thus form a 1ock ingmeans between the hub-band andthe axle-nut.

When the plate 18 -is in its outward posin tion, as shown in FigL1,thelocking-lugs `211wi11 be held out of engagementwith thenut, so thattheir presence Will not interfere with the ordinary operation of thewheel.

Transversely disposed in the inner face of the plate 18 are guideways orchannels 25, connected by a cross-channel 26 centrally of Ithe plate, asindicated in Fig. 3, and Within these guideways are disposed latch-bars27 28, the outer ends of the latch-bars adapted IOO to engage thecavities in the inner face of the huh-band at points opposite the pathsof the latch-bars when the plate 18 is in its outward position, whilesimilar cavities will be located in the inner face of the hub-bandopposite the paths of the latch-bars when the plate is in its depressedposition, one of these latter cavities being indicated at 29 in Fig. 1.

It will be understood that the cavities for the reception ofthelatch-bars when distended will be located at suitable points in theinterior of the hub-band, so that the plate may be locked to thehuh-band hoth in its outward and inward positions.

Connecting the latch-bars 27 28 is a transverselink-band 30, the latterprovided with an operating-rod 31, passing outward through the center ofthe plate 18, as shown in Fig. 1, and provided on its outer end with anoper ating-lever 32, the operating-lever adapted to fold down intoalinement with the outer face of the plate 18 and formed with acamsurface 33, so that when thus folded down it will draw the rod 31outwardly, and thus compress the latch-bars 27 forcibly into engagementwith the plate,and thus prevent the displacement of the plate or anyrattling movement between the plate and hub-band.

The link-bar 30 will be provided in its ends with slots 3-1, preferablyinclined and adapted to engage pins 35, extending from the latch-bar. Bythis arrangement it will be obvious that the rotation of the pin 31 willcause the link-bar to move the latch-bars back and forth in theirrecesses 25, so that when the lever 32 is turned outward into alinementwith the rod 31 and the rod thereby rotated the latch-bars will bethrown into engagement with the hub-band or withdrawn to release theplate from the hub-band, according as to which direction theoperatinglever is turned. After the latch-bars have been mov-ed to therequired position they can be firmly locked in place relative to theplate 18 bysimply turning the lever 32 over into the position shown inFig. 1, which not only firmly clamps'the latch-bars tothe plate, butlikewise places the lever 32 in position out of the wayof obstructionsagainst which the hub may run. In Fig. 6 one of these latch-bars isshown detached, and it will be noted that it is thinner at the centerthan at the ends, so that it possesses a certain degree of resiliency toenable it to yield under the pressure of the link-bar 30 when thecam-lever 32 is operated, and thus insure the requisite friction betweenthe parts.

The plate 18 will be provided upon its inner face with bridging portions36, preferably integral with the plate and forming guides for thelatch-bars, as illustrated in` Fig. 3. By this simple arrangement whenthe nut is to be removed the lever-handle 32 is released and turnedoutward in longitudinal alinement with the rod 31 and the rod 31 rotatedto move the latch-bars 27 28 out of engagement with the hub-band, whichaction releases the plate 18, so that it may be pushed inward to causelthe lugs 24 to engage the registering recesses 17, and thus lock the nut141 fast to the hub-band, the axle having been previously propped up torelease the wheel from the ground, so that it may be rotated to bringthe recesses 15 opposite the recesses 17. The cam-lever 32 is thenrotated in the opposite direction to force the latch-hars intoengagement with the cavities 29 and again turned downward into alinementwith the plate to lock the plate into engagement with the hub-band inits inward position. The wheel is then rotated and the nut 14 turned ofrom the spindle and the wheel released, the nut being held in positionin the hub.

When the wheel is to be replaced, it is only necessary to place it uponthe spindle and rotate it until the nut is turned home upon the spindle,release the cam-lever 32, rotate the pin 31 backward to release thelatch-bars, draw the plate 18 into its outward position, and again lockit in place, as before noted, which action withdraws the lugs 24 fromthe cavities 15 17 and releases the nut, as above noted, and at the sametime forming a complete air and moisture tight closure across the cuterend of the hub-band.

The plate 18, the lugs 24E, together with the recesses 25 26, and thekeepers or guides 36 will preferably be formed in one piece of malleableiron, while the latch-bars 27 28, the link-bar 30, and the pin 31 willpreferably be of steel, but may be of other metal, if preferred= and Ido not, therefore, wish to be limited to any specic material orcombinations of material for the dilerent parts of the device.

The device may be adapted to any of the various sizes and styles ofvehicle-wheels and their hubs.

As many of the cavities 15 17 may be employed as required; but generallytwo, as shown, will be sufcient.

The packing medium 19 may be of rubber, felt, or other suitableyieldahle material, and I do not wish to be limited to the use of anyspecific material for this purpose.

It will be noted that the slots 34C in the ends of the link-bar areinclined tangentially to the pin 31, which form decreases the frictionand reduces the power required to operate the pin 31.

The packing 19 will be somewhat larger than the inner diameter of thegroove orseat in the hub-band 16', so that it will be necessary tocompress it when inserting it to insure the engagement of the packing inthe hub-hand with sufficient force to prevent displacement accidentally,while at the same time being sufficiently resilient to yield to thepressure of the plate 18, and thus insure the requisite moisture andsand proof joint not only between the packing and the hub-hand, but also'between the ring and the plate 18. If required, the packing may becemented to the hub-band. In this connec- IOO IIO

tion it will be obvious that the lugs 2O 23 assist in holding the'band19 in position.

The packing-ring 19 will be extended 0pposite the enlargement 23, asshown at 37, to form a closure to the cavity 23 when the plate 18 is inits outward position.

When the force of the cam-lever 32 33 is exerted upon the transverselink 30 and the central thinner portions of the latch-bars 27 28compressed or bent toward the inner surface of the plate 18, their outerends will be tilted inwardly toward the hub, and thus engage the innersurfaces of the apertures 29 and correspondingly move the plate 18outwardly and cause it to forcibly engage the packing ring 19 andcompress the latter against its seat in the hub-band and beneath thelugs 20 23, and thus form very close, tight, moisture and sand proot'joints between the parts. Y

This is a very important feature of the invention and adds materially tothe efficiency of the device, as will be obvious.

The guide-wires 21 may be threaded upon both ends, if desired, thethread upon the outer end larger in diameter than the thread upon theinner end to insure the insertion of the rod from the outside.

The bridging portions 36, in addition to forming guides for the latchbars 27 28, strengthen and support the latch-bars and prevent theirdisplacement when the tilting action above noted takes place in lockingthe plate 18 in its outward position. These supports 36 will beespecially useful in supporting the latch-bars when the wheel isreplaced on the spindle, at whichrtime the nut will generally be movedwith some force against the outer end of the spindle, and .unless thelatch-bars were adequately sustained they would be displaced and thedevice destroyed. The keepers 36 are therefore an important and valuableaddition to the invention and add materially to its efficiency andvalue.

NVhen theplate 18 is in its outward position, as in Fig. 1, the pins 21alone hold it from rotative movement relative to the hub, and as thetorsional strains are comparatively slight when the parts are in theabove-noted positions the pins will be sufficiently strong to hold theplate; but when the plate is moved into engagement with the nut 14 thetorsional strains will be greatly increased. Hence the importance of thereinforcing-recesses 17, which transfer the strains from the guidewires2l to the reinforced portion of the hubband, so that in removing the nutfrom the spindle the strains `are borne entirely by the hub-band and thelocking-lugs 24. This is an important feature of the invention andmaterially strengthens the operation of the device, as the weaker partsare thereby relieved from lateral strains and provision made forreinforcing and sustaining the operating means at points where mostrequired and Where the heavy strains willoccur.

The parts may be modified in lminor particulars without affecting theprinciple of the invention or sacriticin g any of its advantages.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed isl. In ahub-fastener, a hub having a h-ubband, the axle-spindle, the axle-nutengaging the spindle, a plate slidably disposed insaid hub-band, meanswhereby said plate when depressed is detachably coupled to said axlenut,spa ced latch-bars movably engaging said ing said plate and adapted whenoppositely extended to engage said hub-band,and means for operating saidlatch-bars, whereby said plate is locked into engagement with saidhubband, substantially as described.`

3. In a hub-fastener, a hub having a hubband, the axle-spindle, theaxle-nut engaging the spindle, a plate slidably disposed in saidhub-band and held from rotation and forming a closure thereto whendistended, means whereby said plate when depressed is detachably coupledto said axle-nut, spaced latchbars movably engaging said plate,alink-bar movably coupled to said latch-bars and having a pin extendingtherefrom, and means for rotating said pin, whereby said latch-bars arecaused to lock said plate in engagement with said hub band,substantially as described.

4. In a hub-fastener, a hub having a hubband, a spindle having anaxle-nut, a plate slidably disposed in said hub-bandand held fromrotation and forming aA closure thereto when distended, means wherebysaid plate `when depressed is detachably coupled to said axle-nut,yieldable latch-bars spaced apart and movably disposed relative to saidplate, a link-bar movably coupling -said latch-bars and having anoperating-pin extending therefrom, and means for moving said pinrotatively and longitudinally, whereby said latchbars will be forciblyengaged with the hubband and likewise compressed into forcible IOO I LO

IZO

engagement with said plate, substantially as described.

5. In a hub-fastener, a hub havinga hubband, the axle-spindle, theaxle-n ut engaging the spindle and having one or more radial recesses, aplate slidably disposed within said hub-band and heldfrom rotationtherein and having lugs adapted to engage said recesses when the plateis depressed, a. yieldable annular packing with which said plate engageswhen in its outward position, and means carried by said plate forlocking said plate to said hub-band and forcibly compressingit intoengagement with said packing, substantially as described.

6. In a hub-fastener, a hub having a hubband, the axle-spindle having anaxle-nut, a plate slidably disposed in said hub-band and held fromrotation therein and having transverse spaced recesses, latch-barsmovably engaging said recesses, a link bar movably coupling saidlatch-bars and provided with an operating-pin extending therefrom, meansfor actuating said operating-pin to cause said latch-bars to bedistended into engagement with said hub-band, and means carried by saidplate for detachably coupling it when depressed, to said axle-nut,substantially as described.

7. In a hub-fastener, the hub having a hubband, the axle-spindle, theaxle-nut engaging said spindle, a plate slidably disposed in saidhub-band and held from turning therein,`

means whereby said plate when depressed is detachabl y coupled to saidnut, yieldable latch-bars spaced apart and movably engaging said plateon one side, av link-bar movably coupled to said latch-bars and having apin extending therefrom through said plate, an operating-lever coupledto said pin on the opposite side of said plate and having a camsurfaceadapted when said lever is operated to compress said latch-bars intoengagement with said plate and also lock said plate into engagement withsaid hub-band, substantially as described.

8. In a hub-fastener, the hub having a hubband provided with one or morelongitudinal interior recesses, the axle-spindle, the axlenut engagingthe spindle and having radial recesses corresponding to and adapted toregister with the recesses in the hub-band, a plate slidably disposedwithin said hub-band and adapted to form a closure to said hubband whenextended and provided with lugs adapted when said plate is depressed toengage said registering recesses and thereby couple said axle-nut to thehub, substantially as described.

9. In a hub-fastener, the hub having a hubband provided with one or morelongitudinal interior recesses, the axle-spindle, the axlenut engagingthe spindle and having radial recesses corresponding to and adapted toregister with the recesses in the hub-band, a plate slidably disposedwithin said hub-band and adapted to form a closure to said hubband whenextended and provided with lugs adapted when said plate is depressed toengage said registering recesses and thereby couple said axle-nut to thehub, and means operative outside the hub for locking said plate in itsdistended position, substantially as described. i

10. In a hub-fastener, the hub, the axlespindle, the axle-nut engagingthe spindle, a hub-band engaging the hub and provided withlongitudinally-disposed spaced guidepins, a plate disposed within saidhub-band and slidably engaging said guide-pins, means whereby said platewhen depressed is detachably coupled to said nut, and means' carried bysaid plate for locking it into engagement 7o with said hub band,substantially as described.

ll. In a hub-fastener, the hub, the axlespindle, the axle-nut engagingthe spindle, a hub-band engaging the hub and provided with spaced lugs,guide-pins engaging said lugs and connected to said band, a platedisposed within said hub-band and slidably engaging said guide-pins,means whereby said plate when depressed is detachably coupled 8o to saidnut, and means carried by said plate for locking it into engagement withsaid hubband, substantially as described.

l2. In a hub-fastener, the hub, the axlespindle having the axle-nutengaged therewith, a hub-band engaging the hub and provided with spacedlugs, guide-pins engaging said lugs and connected to said band, a platedisposed within said hub and slidably engaging said guide-pins, meanswhereby said plate 9o when depressed is detachably coupled to said nut,an annular packing-ring between said lugs and said plate and with whichsaid plate is adapted to be engaged when extended, and means wherebysaid plate when extended is locked into engagement with said hub-band,substantially as described.

13. A hub-fastener consisting of a plate disposed longitudinally movablerelative to; the hub and axle, means carried by said plate roo fordetachably engaging the axle-nut when depressed, spaced latch-barsmovably engaging said plate and adapted when distended to lock the plateinto engagement with the hub, substantially as described.

14. A hub-fastener consisting of a plate disposed longitudinally movablerelative to the hub and axle and connected to rotate with the hub, meanscarried by said plate for detachably engaging it when depressed to theno axle-nut, spaced latch-bars movably engaging said plate, and meansoperative outside the hub for forcibly moving said latch-barsalternately in opposite directions into engagement with anddisengagement from the hub, substantially as described.

15. A hub-fastener consisting of a plate disposed longitudinally movablerelative to the hub and axle and connected to rotate with lthe hub andadapted when distended to form 12o a closure to the outer end of thehub, means carried by said plate for detachably engaging the axle-nutwhen depressed, spaced latchbars movably engaging said plate and adaptedwhen distended to lock said plate into eugagement with the hub,substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

STEPHEN SHERMAN THOMAS.

Witnesses:

CAREY J. ELLIS, J. A. Hrcxs.A

